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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Total Spent: $250.00| Rating: 9

Pros:

A universal 'normal' lens: Fast, sharp, and affordable!

Cons:

None

This is comparable to a 50mm lens on a full format camera, and a very good one, to boot. Excellent sharpness, and IQ. In short, the best Nikon 1 lens there is, bar the 32, and possibly, the UWA (6.7–13).

I have to confess that I don't use mine so much, being more of a wide shooter, or longer focal lengths, like the 32.

This lens doesn't ooze quality, as the 32 does, but it comes very close to that, and image quality is definitely first class! In many ways it reminds me of the Sigma 19 I use on my NEX ever so often, but this lens is faster and slightly more compact.

For me the ideal Nikon 1 camera kit is the 6.7–13, the 18.5, and the 32, all without compare in the affordable camera world. When I bought mine, I sold the 50/1.4G I had for my D600, as I realised this little fellow would do just fine if I needed with that FOV!

Prime Minister

Registered: May 2011Posts: 35

Nikon 1 18.5mm f/1.8 Nikkor review by Prime Minister

Review Date: 1/5/2013

Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Total Spent: None indicated| Rating: 9

Pros:

Small, light, fast and silent autofocus, build quality

Cons:

CA

The build quality of this little lens is very good. The lens barrel and bayonet are made of metal. There are no external moving parts and it weighs almost nothing. It feels and looks clean and sturdy though.

The ribbed ring provides good grip while attaching or removing the lens and when you are holding the camera. The chrome rib on the lens barrel is a useful help in attaching or removing the lens. I really like the design of this lens.

Autofocus is fast, accurate and silent. In good light it's lightning quick but even in low light the lens locks on reasonably quick. The large aperture allows hand held shooting at low shutter speeds.

Center sharpness and contrast are very good at f/1.8. Totally usable, very nice. At f/2.8 sharpness and contrast get a little better, but you really have to be pixel peeping. This lens was made to use wide open.

Unfortunately there's some clearly visible CA and some distortion. Some of it can be removed in post processing. Overall the image quality is very decent for a small lens like this.

Personally, I like this focal length. If you like the Nikon 1 system, I think this lens is a vey nice addition. Together with the 10mm f/2.8 it forms an interesting set of primes.

hekob

Registered: March 2012Posts: 5

Nikon 1 18.5mm f/1.8 Nikkor review by hekob

Review Date: 12/14/2012

Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Total Spent: $186.00| Rating: 9

Pros:

weighs nothing, low light performance

Cons:

restrictive focal length, depth of field uninspiring, no focus ring

The lens to get currently if you are a low light CX shooter. I'm not sure this lens will ever sell well until sensor technology catches up a bit with DX/FX. Competent but not much more.